ROUND 1

1.

Which Lake District fell has the same name as the MP who represented the City of Chester between 1992 and 1997?

Brandreth

2.

In 1971 the newspaper, The Daily Sketch, was merged with which other daily newspaper?

The Daily Mail

3.

What word meaning ‘to create an electoral division in such a way as to give advantage to a particular political party’ derives from the name of a former Governor of Massachusetts and the shape of the electoral district that he created?

Gerrymander (Governor Elbridge Gerry & Salamander)

4.

In my 1900 Atlas of the World what is the name of the area currently occupied by Libya?

Tripolitania

5.

In the human body what is the more familiar name for the axilla?

The armpit

6.

Which is the only ever top ten hit with a palindromic title, sung by a group with a palindromic name?

SOS (by Abba)

7.

In the Jeeves & Wooster novels by P G Wodehouse what is Jeeves’ first name?

Reginald

8.

Which British politician, on the outbreak of World War I, said: “The lamps are going out all over Europe; we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime.”?

Edward Grey (Lord Grey of Fallodon)

ROUND 2

1.

Which charity was founded in 1942 to look after citizens of Greece suffering under Nazi occupation?

Oxfam

2.

The old red telephone boxes used which letter to denote their type?

K (short for kiosk)

3.

Which FTSE 100 company is made up of Commercial Union, General Accident and Norwich Union?

Aviva

4.

What is tare weight?

The weight of an empty vehicle, container or vessel

5.

Which British city is known as the city of “jute, jam and journalism”?

Dundee

6.

Complete this drink-related quotation attributed to Alexander Woollcott: “I must get out of these wet clothes……”?

“….and into a dry Martini”

7.

Lord Snowdon in 1950; Colin Moynihan in 1977; Hugh Laurie in 1980. What activity did they have in common?

All took part in the Oxford/Cambridge University Boat Race

8.

Which Asian city has a name that translates into English as ‘fragrant harbour’?

Hong Kong

ROUND 3

1.

Which unit of length, equivalent to 66 feet, derives its name from a 17^th century clergyman’s method of measuring land?

Chain

2.

On which Scottish island could you climb Goat Fell?

Arran

3.

What connects Oldham, Manchester North West, Dundee, Epping and Woodford?

All Parliamentary seats represented by Winston Churchill

4.

Who was known as ‘the Northamptonshire peasant poet’?

John Clare

5.

Which company was formed from the merger of Guinness and Grand Metropolitan?

Diageo

6.

Which castle on the north coast of Scotland was purchased by Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother in 1952?

The Castle of Mey

7.

Which two countries were the colonial powers on the island of Timor at the start of World War II?

Netherlands & Portugal

8.

Governments form COBRA committees to deal with emergencies, such as the recent outbreak of Foot & Mouth disease.  For what do the initials COBRA stand?

Cabinet Office Briefing Room A

 ROUND 4

1.

Which unit of length was originally taken as the distance between the nose and the tip of the outstretched arm of Henry I?

The Yard

2.

Name Northern Ireland’s longest river.

River Bann

3.

What phrase provides the origin of the Cockney rhyming slang term ‘frog’, meaning a road?

Frog & Toad

4.

Which religious leader composed the Christmas hymn Hark! The Herald Angels Sing?

Charles Wesley

5.

What is the name of the annual 151 mile race run over 6 days across the Sahara desert?

Marathon des Sables

6.

Catherine Morland was the daughter of a well-to-do clergyman in which Jane Austen novel?

Northanger Abbey

7.

The young of which freshwater fish are known as finnocks?

Trout

8.

What was Somerset Maugham’s original profession prior to writing novels?

He was a Doctor at St Thomas’ Hospital in London

ROUND 5

1.

Which Lake District fell has the same name as the nickname of the late Martin Ruane, the 48-stone entertainer?

Haystacks (Giant Haystacks)

2.

The British daily newspaper, The Morning Post, was taken over in 1937 by which other daily newspaper?

The Daily Telegraph

3.

What word meaning ‘to travel around the countryside making political speeches’ is derived from the locations often used for these speeches?

Barnstorm

4.

My 1900 Atlas of the World shows a country called Portuguese West Africa.  By what name is it currently known?

Angola

5.

In the human body what is the more familiar name for the hallux?

Big toe

6.

Which 7 word palindrome referring to Ferdinand Lesseps, ends with the word ‘Panama’?

“A man, a plan, a canal - Panama!”

7.

The P G Wodehouse character Roderick Spode and the Elvis Costello song Less Than Zero were both inspired by which politician who died in 1980?

Sir Oswald Mosley

8.

Between which 2 cities did Churchill declare in 1946 that “an iron curtain has descended across the continent”?

Stettin (on the Baltic) and Trieste (on the Adriatic)

ROUND 6

1.

Which charity was founded in London by Benjamin Waugh in 1884?

National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC)

2.

Who designed both Liverpool Cathedral and K6, the most famous of the red telephone box types?

Giles Gilbert Scott

3.

Which FTSE 100 company includes the brands British Sugar, Primark, Kingsmill and Ryvita?

Associated British Foods

4.

After which French town, on the River Seine, in the Aube departement, is a British system of weights named?

Troyes (which gave its name to the Troy system of weights)

5.

Which Cumbrian market town is famous for its annual horse fair?

Appleby

6.

The phrase, Cakes and Ale, forms the title of a novel by Somerset Maugham – but from which Shakespeare play does this phrase originate?

Twelfth Night

7.

John Simpson in 1964: Sebastian Faulks in 1972; Stephen Fry in 1980.  What activity did they have in common?

All took part in University Challenge

8.

Which capital city has a name that translates into English as ‘Our Lady of Peace’?

La Paz (Bolivia)

ROUND 7

1.

What word that describes the grain from which malt is made is also the term for an old measure equal to a third of an inch?

Barleycorn

2.

Which Scottish town was colloquially known as St John’s Toun after the saint to which its church was dedicated?

Perth

3.

What name links Old Mother Riley, King Arthur’s Butler and Richard Bingham?

Lucan (Arthur Lucan, Sir Lucan and Lord Lucan)

4.

Which author lived for over 30 years at Bateman’s, East Sussex?

Rudyard Kipling

5.

What is the name of the rate that British banks use to calculate interest when they lend each other money?

LIBOR (London Interbank Offer Rate)

6.

Name the first atomic power station opened in England in 1956.

Calder Hall

7.

What is the former name for the capital of Indonesia as well as being a type of lettuce?

Batavia

8.

In a meeting, the ability to use the information gained, but not to reveal the identity of the participants, means that the meeting has been run subject to which rules?

The Chatham House Rules

ROUND 8

1.

What measurement is based on the distance from fingertip to fingertip when you stretch your arms out as far as possible?

Fathom

2.

On which river does Bedford stand?

(Great) Ouse

3.

What phrase provides the origin of the Cockney rhyming slang term ‘rabbit’, meaning to talk?

Rabbit & Pork

4.

Which music hall entertainer popularised the songs Oh! Mr. Porter and My Old Man Said Follow the Van?

Marie Lloyd

5.

How many nations took part in the first modern Olympics in 1896 (allow 2 either way)?

12 (allow 10-14)

6.

Who wrote the History of Mr Polly?

H G Wells

7.

In their first year, the young of the fish, esox lucius, are known as jacks, what is the common name for the adult?

Pike

8.

What is the real life name of the author of the fictitious novel, Hard Grinding?

Sir Ian McKellen (the character he briefly played in Coronation Street, Mel Hutchwright, was supposedly the author of this bodice-ripper!!)

SPARES

1.

What was the name of the Bronte sisters’ alcoholic brother?

Bramwell

2.

What is the habit of ‘wilfing’, which is reputedly being practised by over 22 million Britons?

Surfing the Web without any real purpose

3.

To which saint is York Minster dedicated?

St Peter

4.

What is the oldest of London’s Royal Parks, which also happens to be the smallest?

St James’ Park

5.

Pen-y-fan is the highest point of which mountain group?

Brecon Beacons

6.

What particular group of prisoners were held in the Frongoch internment camp near Bala during the second half of the First World War?

Irish rebels captured after the 1916 Easter Rising

7.

What was the 1887 invention of German-born American Emile Berliner which revolutionised popular entertainment?

The Gramophone and the Gramophone record

8.

In which county is Sixpenny Handley?

Dorset